This is the most important thing we've ever done. More important than any of the songs we've written. More important than any of the words I've written. Please take a moment to read this to the bottom.

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Every THREE seconds a child dies of poverty on this planet. That's every 3 seconds of every minute of every hour DAY and NIGHT. Think about that.. Now think about it a bit more. That's right, it's about thirty-thousand people each day. Ordinary, nice, innocent, unlucky people. Dead. Preventable deaths. How do you feel about that? I feel angry. And I feel ashamed.

So what are we going to do about it?

The good news - the REALLY good news - is that we're probably the first generation ever who can address and STOP the downward spiral of world poverty, once and for all. We can only do this if we stand up as ONE and ask our leaders - TELL our leaders - INSIST that this obscenity is tackled NOW. The REALLY good news is that we CAN stand up as ONE and that all we have to do is make a noise about it. We don't even have to put our hands in our pockets..

Yesterday I met Richard Curtis (that "schoolteachery" bloke who wrote "Black Adder" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" - he's a top chap) and Saint Bob Geldof (that loud-mouthed Irishman who seemingly single-handedly organized "Live Aid" and already saved thousands of lives on this troubled planet) and they helped me to understand that our generation can do something amazing this year. A new "Charity" (more of a "movement" than a charity) has been formed called "MAKE POVERTY HISTORY". You can become part of this movement at no cost by going to www.makepovertyhistory.org and simply adding your voice to the cause. You can save someone's life by doing this. You can do the single most important and proud thing you've ever done.

This year, on July 6th and 7th, the leaders of the G8 (the 8 wealthiest countries on earth) will sit round a table in Gleneagles, Scotland, to discuss this issue and to take steps to try to resolve it. Whether these steps are half-hearted politics, or impassioned commitments, depends entirely on the weight of public pressure these 8 men feel. It's our job to leave them in no doubt. This meeting will be hosted by Britain and chaired by the British Prime Minister. The G8 have the very real power to prevent the fundamental underlying causes of poverty in the world. And we can afford it. WE won't even feel it.

Imagine how you'd feel if you did nothing.

Please help us to make a noise about this. People are dying in the world right now at a greater rate than at any time during the "holocaust". How could we stand by and do nothing?

Please go and make a noise at www.makepovertyhistory.org. There are also links at www.marillion.com and www.stevehogarth.com